Choreographer: Jackson was sick days before death

by Linda Deutsch - Jan. 5, 2011 12:00 AMAssociated Press

LOS ANGELES - A choreographer who worked with Michael Jackson on his ill-fated concert tour told a judge Tuesday that he clashed with Jackson's doctor and others over the star's health six days before he died.

Kenny Ortega, the last person to work with Jackson, testified that he was summoned to Jackson's home a day after letting the superstar skip rehearsal because he seemed sick.

Dr. Conrad Murray and others suggested Jackson should not have been sent home because he was physically and emotionally fine, Ortega testified, adding that he was told not to try to be Jackson's doctor or psychiatrist.

The testimony came during a preliminary hearing to determine if Murray, the singer's personal physician, will be tried on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Authorities contend Murray gave Jackson a lethal dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol and other sedatives in the bedroom of his rented mansion before Jackson died on June 25, 2009.

At the hearing, Ortega testified that Jackson had gone home early from rehearsals on June 19.

"He didn't look well at all," Ortega testified. "Michael was chilled and soft-spoken. ... He wasn't in the kind of condition to be at rehearsal."

The next morning, Ortega said, he was called to Jackson's home, where he was confronted by Murray; Jackson; the star's manager, Frank DiLeo; and Randy Phillips, head of AEG, the company producing Jackson's "This Is It" comeback tour.

"Dr. Murray was upset that I had sent Michael home the night before and didn't allow him to rehearse," Ortega said.

Ortega said he replied that, "In my opinion, Michael was not healthy enough to be on stage, and it could endanger him. I said (going home) was Michael's choice."

Ortega went on to say that there were no further problems at rehearsals and that the two sessions that preceded Jackson's death were "fabulous."

"He said he was very, very happy," Ortega said. "He felt the dream was there. He said to tell everybody he loved them and appreciated their hard work."

During cross-examination, Jackson's personal assistant, Michael Amir Williams, described Murray calling him on the day the superstar died and frantically asking him to get help from bodyguards for Jackson.

Murray told him that the singer had a "bad reaction" and that immediate help was needed, but didn't ask him to call 9-1-1, Williams said.

Williams described the chaotic scene at the mansion and hospital and recalled the heartbreaking moment when DiLeo told Jackson's children their father was dead. Williams said he and Murray and everyone else were crying.

Faheem Muhammad, one of Jackson's bodyguards, testified that two of the pop star's children - Prince, then 12, and Paris, who was 11 - watched as Murray frantically attempted to revive Jackson.

Murray had been giving Jackson propofol, normally administered in hospital settings, six nights a week for roughly two months before the death, the prosecutor said.